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US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter addresses a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on December 9, 2016.
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter sought to reaffirm US commitment to Afghanistan on December 9, as uncertainty lingers over President-elect Donald Trump's strategy on America's longest war in the face of a resilient Taliban insurgency. Carter met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and American troops on his last official trip to Afghanistan before he hands over the reins to Trump's pick for defense secretary, the hardline retired general James Mattis.
/ AFP PHOTO / NOORULLAH SHIRZADANOORULLAH SHIRZADA/AFP/Getty Images